Institute of Planetary Psychology

Zodiac Signs Are Specific Attitudes and Colors

What does a zodiac sign have to do with attitudes and colors?

The twelve zodiac signs of the heavens are actually attitudes that are duplicated in the psyche of every individual. Some attitudes remain dormant and remain in the background of our consciousness.

What makes an attitude active in us is when an astrolgy sign (attitude) in our birthchart is found to have a planet in it. The planet activates that sign or attitude. Planets also have individual impulses and express their desires through the signs in their own unique way.

You can understand this if you think of the Sun. Your Sun Sign is simply the sign the Sun was in at the time your were born. All the other planets are also in astrology signs and activate certain attitudes in a person.

This is why we find some people very emotional who have a lot of planets in a water sign, e.g., Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces. Another person could be very fiery if they have planets in Aries, Leo, or Sagittarius. Just remember, planets activate these attitudes that are within us.

Some zodiac signs are not in harmony with other signs. If you were born with planets in a lot of water signs (intense emotional attitudes) then you would not be in harmony with a person who was born with planets in a lot of fire signs. It is as simple as that. What an amazing thing to discover that this actually works out in experience.

This is the basis for understanding how we relate to other people. If you become skilled in reading the energy of a zodiac sign, you will become an expert in the art of matchmaking.

For more information about how to use the signs and planets to analyze relationships, see the matchmaking course which I developed after over 50 years experience. This course is very affordable and you will learn things you have never heard or seen before.

It is also very helpful to think of the zodiac sign (or attitude) as a color. This makes the sign much easier to remember. Because there are twelve zodiac signs, we have twelve different colors: Each color or sign covers the distance of 30 degrees of the circle, which is one segment—1/12th of the Sun’s 360-degree path.

In simple terms, if Mercury (the planet of the reasoning mind) was traveling through the red sign of Aries when you were born, you would express a different attitude in fulfilling your intellectual purpose than if Mercury was moving through the yellow sign of Gemini at the time of your birth.

Here is one way you would describe a planet in a particular zodiac sign or attitude:“My Mercury is in Aquarius. Therefore my thinking, which is shown by Mercury, is influenced by the blue-green attitude or the attitude of Aquarius.”

From my long experience with a zodiac sign, I have personally chosen specific colors to reflect its meaning. Use of the colors in this way is not part of the astrological tradition, but they will help you get an immediate feeling for what the signs are like.

For instance, the zodiac sign of Aries is like the color red.People with personal planets in Aries are active, impulsive, aggressive, and sometimes foolish risk-takers. It has been said that people with red cars tend to attract more trouble than people with cars of a different color, because we seem to react to red as a challenge.

Remember how the red cape of the bullfighter incites the bull? The color red seems to arouse these feelings in us. With this method, you don’t have to spend a lot of time learning about the abstract name of a zodiac sign and what it means.

Of course, some colors are much more subtle than red, but with a little reasoning everything will become clear to you. The concrete imagery of the colors will stay in your mind much longer than an abstract description like “Your Mars is in Aries.”

Here, you will be exploring the meaning of a personal planet in a zodiac sign because they are much easier to learn at first. The personal planets tend to support the ego and its desires. Think of the personal planets (the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars) as the more human or ego-oriented planets. Let us now explore some more attitudes (signs) to see how they function in actual practice.

Let’s look at Taurus. I call Taurus the green zodiac sign because it imparts and attitude that relates to money as well as the good things of the earth that are green like grass. This is enough imagery to lead you through a basic interpretation of a personal planet in Taurus. Let’s say a man’s Venus is in Taurus. He would be very interested in money and the sensual enjoyments of life.

Also, in a man’s chart, Venus always shows the kind of woman he is attracted to. This man’s feminine ideal is Taurus, because Venus, the planet of the feminine spirit, was in the zodiac sign of Taurus when he was born. If he were to use this information as his guide, he would soon discover that almost any woman he is attracted to would have a planet or two in Taurus in their own chart. Actors Orson Wells and Raymond Burr were two individuals who symbolized the sensual enjoyment of the good life. Both had Taurus planets.

What do you feel about a zodiac sign that would have an attitude like yellow?

I find yellow very uplifting, positive, full of movement, bright, and happy.

If you know people with planets in the zodiac sign of Gemini,. you will find they have these qualities. Consider Gemini as the yellow zodiac sign attitude. The problem here is that some other signs are similar in expression—we need something more concrete to recall the Gemini energy. One way is to think of the word “Gemini” as “Jim and I,” which obviously always means two people. People born at the time planets were moving in Gemini are always into two or more things. They will engage many projects at once, but they have a hard time completing them.

Most Gemini people live in their head and are obsessed with new ideas. I chose yellow because it makes me think of pure intellect, and the mind of the Gemini often works so fast it reminds me of light—the sometimes yellow light of the Sun. These people have the capacity to see two things at once. For example, you might recall when Joe Montana, a Gemini, was the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. He could look in one direction and throw the ball in the other, and he was famous for getting rid of the football with lightening speed. His mind is as fast as the flight of a hummingbird and can change direction just as fast. A true Gemini will often sit under a bright yellow light polishing his clever ideas.

A woman whose Sun is in Cancer, has her heart in the home. I call Cancer the brown zodiac sign attitude for several reasons. Chocolate is brown. On a cold winter day a cup of hot chocolate or warm brownie makes us feel loved and nourished. Cancer is the mother astrology sign. They love the home and family and they like to feed people. They are also interested in houses and real estate. Dirt or land is also brown.

These images of brown are very helpful in understanding Cancer’s desires and attitudes. Mother Wright, who feeds thousands of homeless people every year in Oakland, California, has four planets in Cancer. She completely demonstrates the nurturing principle of Cancer —- a World Mother.

I once saw a woman’s boyfriend who had Mercury (thinking) next to his Jupiter (expansion) in Cancer (home). The woman asked me to tell her something about him. I said, “He loves the home, family, and real estate; he thinks about these things all the time.”

“That’s unbelievable. He owns a real estate company!” she said.

Think of the zodiac sign of Leo as a gold sign attitude. Gold is a symbol of wealth. It is associated with kings, queens, and power. Leos feel themselves as a source of love, full of inner wealth and strength. Even though the actor Sylvester Stallone has his Sun in Cancer and his Moon in Libra, he is fierce on the inside—with Pluto in Leo on top of his Mercury in Leo. Another actor, Arnold Schwartzenegger, has his Sun, Saturn, and Pluto in the zodiac sign of Leo, making him something of a “bonecrusher.”

Sometimes, people with planets in Leo have gigantic egos and are self-glorifying. That seemed to be the case of Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator of World War II, whose ego got in the way and led to a quick demise. But usually people who were born with “happy” Leo planets—not stressed out by squares—have “hearts of gold.” They are often very generous, and their outgoing, positive energy tends to make others feel good just being around them.

I recall that Mars was moving through the sign of Virgo at the time you were born, Lelia. Virgo is the orange sign attitude. Traditionally, orange is associated with service and harvest time. Think of all the orange pumpkins being harvested in the fall. Since Virgos have a need to help others and organize information, they harvest ideas and set them in their best order. The aggressive and action-oriented planet Mars was in Virgo when you were born, so you have a passion (Mars) for helping others and placing things in order.

Princess Diana had her Mars conjunct Pluto in Virgo which gave her an intense passion for helping others. (She was killed at the time visiting Pluto was making a square to these two planets.) Tibetan and Indian monks who wear orange robes symbolize service and renunciation. These symbols of the color orange will serve to anchor in your mind the basic meaning of the attitudes of the zodiac sign of Virgo.

You can also associate the quality of zodiac signs with the activities of a person or an event to help you remember. For instance, earlier we talked about your Mars in Virgo being close to Neptune—which indicates a passion for ecstasy. Mars is the desire to pursue aggressively and Neptune is the desire for ecstasy. You have sought to fulfill this ecstasy through music and spiritual practices.

The well-known Italian opera singer Luciano Pavarotti has Venus in Virgo next to his Neptune; this gives him a great need to experience ecstasy by serving perfectly the god of music, Neptune. Because you were born with planets in Virgo, you are an expert on the attitudes of Virgo.

What would you say about white?

White to me is very neutral, full of potential, but with nothing definite—like a blank canvas.

Libra is the white sign attitude. Librans find it hard to take sides because they see value in both. People with planets in the astrology sign of Libra can exasperate us when they act indecisively and fail to take a stand. They have a great capacity to neutralize any situation where there is conflict by raising the white flag to negotiate a truce, which makes them excellent mediators or arbitrators. Libra is also the “waffling” sign.

President Clinton has Venus and Mars conjunct Neptune in Libra and was accused of “waffling” by George Bush. But Mr. Bush has his Moon in Libra. So, what we have here is a “waffler” calling a “waffler” a “waffler.” Libra types believe in togetherness and hate to choose a path that closes off choices. In fact, they don’t like choosing at all. They have the most amazing capacity to rationalize any attitude they may have despite how false or unrealistic it may be. They seem to have a great distrust of the particular—anything that is one way.

For example, I had a client who had a lot of planets in Libra and had difficulty accepting the reality of the specific conflicts that were shown in her chart. She would always counter with, “Well, everybody has that,” or “but I’m not like that very much.” In short, she would always find a way to rationalize everything I pointed out to her—as if these things were true of everyone.

People who are born with planets in the zodiac sign of Libra are surrounded with the white blanket of possibility but may fail to act decisively.

Tell me, what color would you choose for the zodiac sign of Scorpio?

I only know one Scorpio other than myself. He was very secretive and unable to talk about his feelings—kept things hidden. I would choose a dark color.

I consider Scorpio to be the black sign attitude. As the absence of color, black can be nothing and everything. It represents night—the unknown, what is not seen. As you say, “hidden.” People born with planets in Scorpio often appear other than they really are because they prefer not to be known.

We often see the mask rather than the real person. The Scorpio planets give the desire to remain fiercely private, proud, independent, emotionally in control, and unknown. The actress Jaclyn Smith seems to be an emotionally in control person in her TV performances—she has three planets in Scorpio.

It is also interesting to gaze upon a Scorpio person when they wear black. They exude an intensely mysterious quality that makes them very seductive and they sometimes appear threatening. The planet Pluto is a close friend to them, and we know what that planet is like. Do you remember our discussion of Bruce Lee?

Yes.

He was born with the Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars all in the zodiac sign of Scorpio and square Pluto. He was awesome in black! Well, let’s go on.

How about blue?

Blue is the sky, a symbol for the heavens. There is something spiritual about it—otherwise, I’m not sure.

Well, that makes sense because blue is an ethereal energy, so it is hard to pin it down in concrete terms. I consider Sagittarius to be the blue sign attitude. Think of the “wild blue yonder.” Shoot a blue arrow into space. Those born with planets in Sagittarius have wanderlust and a passion for discovery. It is the realm of law, justice, teaching, writing, religion, and philosophy.

People with strong planets in this zodiac sign seek to understand by probing the deep, blue space of the mind in search of answers. Sometimes they are simply looking for information, for example, lawyers seeking to discover facts. The classical composer, Beethoven, had three planets in Sagittarius. He hated hypocrisy in religion and pretenders in high positions. He brought forth great music from the blue place.

Robert, you make it sound so simple, but I’m still not sure I can do this as easily as you can.

You will, trust me. Let’s explore the rest of the signs together, and I will ask you some more questions. Let’s continue with another color.

How would you describe the color gray?

Gray is kind of depressing, empty, wintry, lonely.

Good. Capricorn is the gray zodiac sign. Capricorn is serious and matter of fact—all business. But people with Capricorn planets really try to be humorous. Perhaps you have seen the actor Mel Gibson who always manages to crack a smile and make clever, offhanded remarks. His Sun and Mercury are in the gray sign of Capricorn. When a person has Mercury in the gray sign, they tend to think seriously.

(Remember, Mercury relates to thinking.) To offset this wintry state of mind, they look for humor. The 1950s comedian and musician Danny Kaye had four Capricorn planets. Capricorns seem to be in search of something light-hearted because they don’t really feel that way. If a person has three or four planets in this gray zodiac sign, they will be very serious and therefore take themselves too seriously.

Your brief description of Capricorn is certainly quite adequate. It is said that this gray sign is ruled by the leaden planet, Saturn. Maybe this is why these individuals practice being light-hearted. They may feel dull to themselves and want to get rid of the serious mood they carry around inside of them.

Would you say something about the other zodiac signs? Their attitudes?

Yes, what about blue-green?

Blue-green feels intense to me, different—unusual beauty.

Aquarius is the blue-green sign attitude. The Aquarian attitudes are radically different from all the other signs. People who have planets in this zodiac sign are charged with charisma. You will find many people with planets in Aquarius on TV and in the movies—Paul Newman for one.

Sharon Stone has Venus in Aquarius, and Marilyn Monroe had her Moon there. Mel Gibson has Mars in Aquarius, and Cybill Shepherd has four planets in Aquarius. True Aquarians possess unique qualities of self-expression, yet are often detached emotionally.

It is very interesting to note that three of the world’s greatest composers had planets clustered in Aquarius. Mozart had four planets in Aquarius. Saturn was next to his Sun and Mercury, so his father—representing Saturn—played the roll of Scrooge. He was very heavy on Mozart and made him perform all the time. Because his father had Scorpio planets, I’m sure they didn’t get along. However, this did not obstruct Mozart’s true Aquarian genius—he was a musical wonder.

The Austrian composer Franz Schubert had Aquarian planets in conjunction—Mercury, Sun and Pluto. Remember how Pluto pushed Mars? Well, here he is pushing Schubert’s mind (Mercury), which gave the composer tremendous perception. His was a very special voice: The exalting effect of his Ave Maria endures through time.

Then there is Frederic Chopin, who had Mercury right next to Venus in Aquarius; this led his mind to focus on Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. He sought to crystallize a romantic ideal in his music, but found it hard to actualize it in human terms with his lover, Georges Sands. He hated being called a romantic but this may be because Aquarians prefer to remain detached. They seem embarrassed to show deep emotions.

So, when you think of Aquarius, think of some of these giants. It is the astrology sign of difference, uniqueness, and the voice of originality.

I consider Pisces to be the purple sign attitude. Think of a deep ocean of consciousness when you think of Pisces. Those born with a lot of planets in this sign are considered far-out, very psychic and attuned to the subtle world within them. Edgar Allan Poe, who had four planets in Pisces, was a writer and poet of great imagination who certainly lived in a purple world—sometimes in a euphoric world of opium.

Pisces types live in deep inner space. Not liking the world as it is, they seek to create their own world to live in. Often Pisces have a deep desire to bring forth something beautiful into the physical world. The great painter Michelangelo had his Sun and Mars in Pisces. He certainly had a passion for the sublime, which he expressed in his paintings.

A Pisces who has too many disappointments might try to merge into the deep purple by drowning themselves in drugs or alcohol—they need their ecstasy one way or another, even if it is only temporary.

You may think that the signs of Sagittarius and Pisces sound similar, but actually they are quite different. Sagittarius is a fire energy and Pisces is water. Sagittarians seek to understand the blue sky of higher awareness, but Pisces tend to fall into it—they want to live there. Sagittarians are more intellectually connected to this higher awareness; Pisces are more emotionally connected. Yet, these two signs seem to understand and have compassion for each other.
Visits of Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars

While we are speaking of astrology signs, let me give you some examples of how the personal planets of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars work through them. As I mentioned earlier, the planet picks up the energy of the sign it is passing through at the time of our birth. From then on, we use the planet’s energy to express that sign’s particular attitude.

For example, the other day a lady came to me for a reading, and I noticed that she was born with her Moon in Gemini, the yellow sign. The most outstanding feature of a strong Gemini person is their restlessness and endless flitting from one subject to the next. It was a real challenge to hold this woman’s attention on the point I was trying to make. Then I realized I was working too hard to get her to understand. I thought I would try something different: Every time she would jump off the subject, I would jump off of it with her.

We went here and there and everywhere, and I finally guided her back to what we were first talking about. Just as I began to get to my point again, she went off on another tangent—and I went with her. Again we went here and there and everywhere, and I gradually brought her back once more to the point. This second time she said, “You sure jump around a lot.” “Yes, that’s true,” I said smiling. Then she suddenly jumped back. “Oh, me, that’s what I’ve been doing. I’m the one who’s been jumping around. I’ve always had such a problem with focusing. How can I stop doing this?”

I told her that understanding her tendency to grab “two of everything” was already half the battle.

What do you mean by “two of everything”?

Well, remember astrology’s Gemini attitudes we talked about? Geminis always need to do two things at once. So, their challenge is to be able to concentrate on one thing at a time. This woman finally realized that it was okay to do two things at once, because that was her nature, but that it would work out better if she agreed to finish whatever she started. She called sometime after our session and told me it was still very hard for her to stay focused, but she had realized that she would never accomplish anything if she didn’t.

To carry this a little further, it is interesting to note that a woman who has her Sun or Mars in Gemini may have trouble choosing one man. Like Libras, people with planets in Gemini hate the word “one.” A man with his Moon or Venus in Gemini might always find himself chasing two or more women.

I once had a male client whose astrology chart showed that her Venus, Moon, and Mercury in Gemini who was going with three women at the same time! One day he called me in desperation—he wanted to know how to solve his problem. After checking his planets, I told him it would be resolved by next Sunday. When Sunday evening came around, he called and told me that one of the women had caught him in bed with another one; as a result, he had lost both of them and went back to the only one left. But I wonder how long it will be before he re-creates a similar situation.

I mention these stories to illustrate how strong these zodiac signs (attitudes) are in our nature. You can see why people are more predictable than we think; how wonderful it is to be able to understand them through the planets! However, it is very important not to judge. With our understanding of the planets, we can look through another person’s eyes and know why they do the things they do. We will know how to work with them and communicate with them on a deeper level of intimacy. You may soon hear people say, “You’re one of the few people who really understands me.”

Here I have shown people using their energies to express the tendencies of just one zodiac sign, Gemini. Yet there are eleven more zodiac signs! You can see that there are endless combinations available to explain the complexity of human nature. Knowing how this works will enable you to cut through all the “psychobabble” that’s present in the world today. This is the great gift that astrology offers us.

You can always rely upon the planets to lead you to the heart of any human condition. Astrologers may make mistakes, but the planets never lie.

You can benefit greatly from having your horoscope chart read by an intuitive expert astrologer who wiil give you the valuable insights you need concerning your life. Why continue to play roulette with your destiny when you can remove the risk of going in the wrong direction.